"You killed Popovic without orders," I continue. "You compromised this entire thing by killing someone with intel. And now you're trying to take Lebedev from me so you can silence him too. I'm not letting that happen."
"Popovic was a liability. He would've talked to the police."
Ruslan is wrong. The only police Miloš Popovic would've been talking to were the ones on his payroll, to cover up his crimes. All of this reeks of dissidence.
"He would've talked to us first if you'd given us the chance." I'm so tempted to have it out right here and make them all pay, but in such a public place, it's not smart. I'm impulsive at times andI have a hot temper, but I'm not stupid. With police only a few miles away, they'd be on us like flies on shit in less than five minutes if shooting breaks out.
"I want to be present when you question him," Ruslan growls, and he waves his men off. They lower their weapons, and I hear Nenad and Vuk shift. "I have a right to be there."
Having Ruslan present when Lebedev talks is actually exactly what I need. Then I have evidence Ruslan can't deny or spin if there are multiple people who hear it.
"Fine," I say. "You can be there. But this happens on my terms, in a location I control—my house. We question him there." I can't think of another place that's safe or private, and who knows what sort of mess Ruslan has set up for me if I walk out of this. It's easier if it's on my turf and I can make sure Danica is safe at the same time.
"Your house?" Ruslan looks suspicious. "Why not somewhere neutral?"
"Because I don't trust you not to try something. Take it or leave it." God, I want to put a bullet in his head, but I lower my gun and he lowers his.
Ruslan's jaw works as he grinds his teeth. He doesn't like being backed into a corner, but he also doesn't have much choice. If he refuses, it makes him look guilty. If he agrees, he has to hope he can control the situation when we get there.
"Fine," he says. "Your house. But Ilya and Konstantin come with me."
"No. You come alone or you don't come at all. We have one man, and we don't need company." I glare at them, and they puff theirchests out defiantly, but I'm not beneath capping them right now so they can't come. I just don’t want to end up in a car chase.
"You're a fool…" he snarls. "You're leaving witnesses." Every fucking thing he says is self-incriminating and he has no clue how bad he sounds.
But he's got a point. As much as I'd prefer to have him isolated, having his men nearby actually works in my favor. If Lebedev talks and implicates Ruslan, having Ilya and Konstantin as witnesses to his reaction will only strengthen my case. And if they're guilty too, I can end them all at once.
"Fine. They can come… But the guns stay in the car." The situation is getting slightly out of my control, but I can't back down now. This will end today, one way or another.
Ruslan nods slowly. "Agreed."
I gesture to the car where Nenad's already opening the back door. "We leave now. You follow us. If you try to run or if you make any stops along the way, our deal is off, and I'll end this my way."
"Understood."
I shove Lebedev into the back seat and climb in after him while Nenad gets behind the wheel and Vuk takes the passenger seat. Through the window, I watch Ruslan return to his SUV and exchange words with Ilya and Konstantin. They're probably discussing strategy, trying to figure out how to spin this in their favor.
But they're too late. I'm already ten steps ahead.
"Drive," I tell Nenad.
He pulls out of the parking lot and I turn my attention to Lebedev, who's sitting quietly beside me with his hands folded in front of him. He's watching me with careful eyes, probably trying to figure out what his play is here. He has no play, and he has no escape. He dies today.
"You're going to tell me everything," I say, reaching into my pocket to zip tie his wrists. "Every detail about who helped you, who ordered the hit on Dominic, and what Ruslan's role was in all of it. And you're going to do it in front of witnesses so there's no question about what was said."
"You're a fool if you think I'll talk…" Andrei is a wise man and he's been playing his cards well for a while. But he underestimates how evil I can be when I want.
"Then I let Ruslan have you. I'm sure he'll be very creative about how he silences you."
Lebedev's face pales slightly. He knows what that means. Ruslan will kill him to protect himself and whoever's pulling his strings, just the same way he killed the politician. It's the end of the line for him and he knows it.
And he doesn't respond. He stares out the window as we drive through the city.
A million scenarios are playing through my head right now. Some of them are good—thoughts of ending this and whisking Danica off to a new life away from this madness in Russia where I belong.
But some of the things going through my head are scary and end with me in a heap lying in a puddle of my own blood.
I have to keep my head in this game and my eyes wide open or it could end that way. I am the final line of defense before Ruslan and the men he's collected to align against Yuri finally take over and move to crush my family.
